TIMELESS SERIES
Indian Mythology
Timeless Series Indian Mythology ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronics, mechanical, photocopying, recording and or without permission of the publisher. Published by
MAPLE PRESS PRIVATE LIMITED sales office A-63, Sector 58, Noida 201301, U.P., India phone +91 120 455 3581, 455 3583 email :
[email protected] website : www.maplepress.co.in Reprinted 2019 Printed and bound in Noida, India ISBN: 978-93-88304-35-1
Contents 1. King Manu and the Fish������������������������������������������ 4 2. Nectar of Immortality���������������������������������������������� 9 3. Varaha Avatar���������������������������������������������������������� 15 4. Narasimha Avatar��������������������������������������������������� 20 5. Savitri and Satyavan����������������������������������������������� 26 6. Brave Dhruva’s Devotion��������������������������������������� 32 7. Bhasmasur��������������������������������������������������������������� 36 8. The Govardhan Hill������������������������������������������������ 40 9. Sudama�������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 10. Arjuna and the Bird’s Eye�������������������������������������� 51 11. Eklavya��������������������������������������������������������������������� 56 12. The Terrible Oath��������������������������������������������������� 62 13. Story of King Harishchandra�������������������������������� 69 14. Churning of the Ocean������������������������������������������ 74
King Manu and The Fish
M
any years ago, King Manu, a noble man ruled the earth. It is said that he was the first ruler of the earth. He was a man of great wisdom and was devoted to virtue. King Manu had been engaged in
Indian Mythology
severe penance for thousands of years. On one fine day he went to a river near his palace to offer his prayers when he collected a tiny fish in his cupped hands, along with water by mistake. The king was about to let the fish escape into the river again when the fish spoke, “Great king, do not throw me away. Keep me with you. I shall be of help to you some day.” The king was highly pleased by the fish’s request. So he brought the fish home. The king put the tiny fish in a jar. For a few days the fish remained happily in the jar. But then one day the king noticed that the fish was unable to move in the jar. It had grown so much that there was hardly any space in the jar. It made the fish very unhappy. So the king took pity on the fish and shifted it to a tank. For some days the fish remained happy in the tank but again it had grown so much that now it hardly had any room to move within the tank. So the king threw the fish in a lake. Its joy knew no bounds. It jumped and played in the lake. But in a few days the fish had grown again and now the lake was too small for it. When the king came to visit it he was shocked to see the fish so unhappy again. So 5
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he arranged some men to transfer the fish from the lake to a river. But in few days even the river proved to be too small for the fish. The king realized that it was no ordinary fish. He bowed to the fish and said, “I now understand that you are no ordinary fish but a lord. Bless me that I may run my kingdom with more justice and wisdom. Bless us that peace may always prevail in our land.” The fish said, “Great king, I am satisfied with your service towards me. I have come to warn you that in a few days it will start raining heavily. The rain will continue for the next seven days and there would be a huge flood that will drown the whole earth. You must build a big ship and fill it with good people, animals and plants of all kind and set sail.” Though this prediction surprised King Manu, he did not say anything and decided to obey the fish’s order. He immediately set off to build a huge ship and filled it with all kinds of animals, plants and the good people. When it began to rain and the land was drowned by the ocean, he set sail in his ship. For seven days it rained heavily and they sailed through the storms. But the ship did not 7
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sink. Do you know why? It was because the giant fish was carrying the ship on its back. This giant fish was Matsya, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. When the raining stopped and the flood was over, King Manu’s ship came ashore and all the animals, plants and good men who were on it, were saved. Together with them, King Manu then created a new kingdom and a new era started.
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Varaha Avatar
L
ong long ago, Lord Brahma created four boys and blessed them to live as eternal boysaints. These four saints were named Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanathkumara. The four boys had miraculous powers. Once, they decided to visit Lord Vishnu. After getting the permission and blessings from their father Lord Brahma, the four saints set out for the abode of Lord Vishnu at Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha has seven gates. The four saints crossed six gates but were stopped at the seventh gate by Jay and Vijay. The two of them did not let them enter this last gate. Being saints they wore only their loincloth. Jay and Vijay insulted them saying that they were not even properly dressed. The four of them reminded Jay and Vijay that they were sons of Brahma. But Jay and Vijay did not listen. They accused the four boys of creating a scene and threatened that they will be
Indian Mythology
thrown out of Vaikuntha. This insult was too much. The four boys got so angry that they cursed Jay and Vijay to be born as demons on the earth as they were too arrogant to be in such a sacred place. The whole Vaikuntha trembled due to their rage. Jay and Vijay realized their mistake, but it was too late. At this moment Lord Vishnu appeared along with Goddess Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu said, “Your behaviour was unpardonable. Never before had the four saints cursed anybody. Hence, their curse must take effect.” Jay and Vijay then fell at the feet of the four saints. They begged for mercy. Feeling pity for the gatekeepers, they said, “Your curse cannot be removed 10
Indian Mythology
but be assured that there will be happiness before it ends. You shall be born on the earth only three times and will be killed by Lord Vishnu every time. Thereby, you shall attain salvation and return to this abode.” Thus, Jay and Vijay were born on the earth for the first time as the demon brothers, Hiranyakashyap and Hiranyaksh. It is said that when they were born, both the earth and the heavens shook. All the Gods were afraid that if while being born they were so ferocious, what would happen when they grow up. Years went by and Hiranyaksh grew to be a devotee of Lord Brahma. After devoting himself for thousands of years in hard penance, Lord Brahma appeared to him and promised to bless him with a wish. Hiranyaksh said, “Lord, bless me that I may never be killed by any human, God or demon.” Brahma granted his wish and disappeared. After this Hiranyaksh, the demon king ruled like a tyrant the world had never seen. He was so confident of his immortality that he started to disturb the peace upon the earth. First he stood in the middle of the ocean and moved his waist from side to side. This churned the waters much to the sorrow of the Water God Varun. When he appeared, Hiranyaksh challenged Varun to a duel. Varun had no choice but to agree. But since Hiranyaksh was blessed by Brahma, Varun could not defeat him. He went to Lord Vishnu to ask for his help. 11
Indian Mythology
Meanwhile, having defeated Varun, Hiranyaksh’s confidence grew to manifolds. He took the earth and began sinking into the ocean to reach the patallok. This worried all the other Gods and they joined Varun and prayed to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu then took the avatar of a wild boar and went to patallok in search of Hiranyaksh. He found the demon king sitting there with the earth on his knee. The boar challenged Hiranyaksh for a fight.
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Proud Hiranyaksh agreed. But he had forgotten that he had asked Brahma to bless him with the ability to only win over a human, God or demon. Brahma’s blessing did not work because Hiranyaksh was fighting with an animal now. So the boar easily defeated Hiranyaksh and after it had killed
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him it brought the earth back from the patallok and restored peace. This avatar the Lord Vishnu had taken to kill Hiranyaksh is known as Varaha Avatar. Thus, as Hiranyaksh was killed by Lord Vishnu’s Varaha Avatar, the gatekeeper was set free from the curse as the four saints had predicted.
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Nectar of Immortality
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hile the Asuras, the Daityas and the Gods were fighting over who should get the largest share of the nectar of immortality called amrita, Lord Vishnu thought, “If the Asuras and the Daityas become immortal by drinking the amrita, then they would continue to create troubles for all those who live on the earth and in the heavens. There would be no way left to stop them. I must do something so that they do not get to drink the amrita.” Lord Vishnu quietly turned himself into a lovely maiden and stepped out of the ocean. No sooner had she appeared, all the Asuras, the Daityas and the Gods stopped fighting and they gazed at her in surprise. A bright light had lit up the sky and from within it
TIMELESS SERIES
Indian Mythology We have collected a number of stories from the Indian Mythology about Gods and Demons, heroes and villains, their sacrifices and rewards, misdeeds and punishments, of good and evil, and heaven and hell. Through these narratives, we aim to enable teaching of values and ethics to our children, and to keep their interest by the cleverly written story text.
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